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Mobile World Congress 2016 is under way, the coverage has begun, and the world's leading journalists covering the smartphone and mobile industry are watching the events in Barcelona to discover the next 'big thing' for the industry. As with the vast majority of trade shows, the public has no idea what is going on directly, but must be satisfied with the filtered reports from the show floor.

Which leads to the battle that is going on behind the scenes at Mobile World Congress. Countless smartphones, products, peripherals and ideas are all trying to get noticed in the scrum of coverage. The huge investment of time and resources to attend MWC for the smaller companies needs to have a return. While many will be paying to be seen by the industry, others are looking to break out with public recognition. A successful MWC for many is a rise in name recognition, email sign ups, Facebook likes, and potentially hardware sales.

Visitors look at the new LG G5 on the eve of the official start of the Mobile World Congress.(Image: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images)

Win the headlines at MWC, sell in the showrooms the following week. That maximum is as true in the smartphone market as it is to Ferrari in Formula One motor racing.

That's why Samsung made such a huge fuss over the Galaxy S7 launch, making sure it was (strictly speaking) outside of MWC and could command the attention of every arriving delegate. It wouldn't surprise me if LG decided in part to announce the G5 just ahead of Samsung's gig to at as a spoiler and generate a direct comparison of its technology. Sony looks to be going for a slow-burn strategy, with new battery technology representing an easy one-liner for reporters to use in MWC summaries. Presumably Sony hopes this is interesting enough to get reporters to its stand to see the new Xperia handsets.

A Samsung Galaxy S7 is seen during its worldwide unveiling on February 21, 2016 (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

MWC pulls vital elements of the smartphone ecosystem into close contact with each other. In a short time period, manufacturers have to demonstrate their prowess. After that, the media has to decide what will be published prominently, what gets a sidebar listing, and what will be ignored. Play the game well, and the media gets the traffic, manufacturers get a springboard to sell their smartphones, and the public gets a clear message about what's going to be the next attractive set of features and handsets for 2016.

Everyone knows that's going to happen going into Barcelona. Everyone hopes it will be themselves on top of the pile. Let's see who wins.